‘Hit very close to home’: Les Schwab launches foundation with $100,000 commitment to Silver Rail

(Update: adding comments from Les Schwab CEO)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- As Silver Rail students, families, and educators face a long road to recovery, a longtime Central Oregon company is committing $100,000 to support their community.

Les Schwab announced Tuesday morning it has created the Les Schwab Foundation, an initiative designed to support the communities where its employees and customers live.

Its first beneficiary will be Silver Rail Elementary School.

“With Silver Rail being here in our hometown and having employees directly impacted, it hit home very close,” Les Schwab Chairman and CEO Tom Nolan said.

“We had been considering forming the foundation for some time now, and this was a good catalyst for us to get it off the ground and help the communities that we need in our hometown, especially when they need us," Nolan added.

The foundation will distribute the $100,000 commitment among three recipients:

• $40,000 will go to Silver Rail Elementary School and its parent-teacher organization.
• $30,000 will support recovery efforts across Bend-La Pine Schools.
• $30,000 will go to the Oregon Community Foundation to address needs as they emerge.

“We have the privilege of being a company that’s been successful enough to be able to do these things, and that’s our obligation, I feel like, to give back to the communities,” Nolan said.

The foundation will also provide assistance to Les Schwab employees, support nonprofit partners, and respond to future crises in the communities the company serves.

“Bend is where Les grew up. He went to Bend High School,” Nolan said. “Between our distribution center in Prineville, as well as our main office here, and then the almost 640 stores we have around the country, we want to make sure that we’re giving back.”

The foundation is developing a process through which people and organizations can request assistance. It also plans to create a way for others to contribute.